


Vernorexia (Counting)

by LapisLazuli13



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: And Newt just lets him be, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Thomas is a dork, Thomas is also a hopeless sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-08-07 17:58:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16413194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LapisLazuli13/pseuds/LapisLazuli13
Summary: Vernorexia (n.)a romantic mood inspired by spring.…“It’s pointless to count stars.”“It’s also pointless to count freckles, but I know you have 36 on the edge of your left hand.”…Or the one in which Thomas is a hopeless sap, and Newt just lets him be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Le_Boongg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le_Boongg/gifts).



> I wrote this listening to Counting Stars by OneRepublic, but this one by no mean is a songfic at all [AU, no mazes, no Flare, no Crank, absolutely no page 250]
> 
> For **Le_Boongg** , you already know about my tendency to give gift fics to people I like, and you’re a lovely person ~ ~~I will try to not unintentionally turn your gift into an angst central one this time =)))~~

##  **Vernorexia (Counting)**  

…

It happened on a spring day.

For Newt, it was a normal spring day as any other days. The temperature was still slightly cold, but not enough to make snow fall. Still, he felt content to stay inside with a cup of hot chocolate to indulge himself.

“But let’s picture this,” Thomas’ voice interrupted his train of thoughts. “We’re standing on a glade. As you can see, the meadow is parsley-green mixed with shades of emerald and shamrock, and hordes of daisies and dandelions scatter the ground. Strands of thin light fall from the sky and gently cover everything with warm sunshine. And then when you close your eyes and inhale deeply, a festival of scents will fill your lungs with its relaxing fragrance from fresh grass, blossoming flowers, earthy—”

“Bloody hell, Tommy, we’re not even outside now,” Newt mumbled, cutting off Thomas’ vivid imagination, but an amused smile was dancing on his lips.

“Then we should go outside to enjoy the day,” Thomas shrugged when he let OneRepublic’s songs blast out from a mini speaker connected with his phone before plopping down next to Newt on the couch. The blond cast a quick glance at his boyfriend but decided to say nothing. He closed his eyes, silently enjoying the music. The song was one of Thomas’ favorites called _Counting Stars_.

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

“Not today,” Newt shook his head. “I just want a warm day inside, maybe cuddle with my boyfriend if he doesn’t mind.”

“Of course he doesn’t mind.” Thomas grinned cheerfully, pressing a light kiss on Newt’s cheek.

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be counting stars_

_Yeah we’ll be counting stars_

“Do you think we should go stargazing sometimes, Newt? Like, observing the beauty of the sky at night, identifying constellations, and counting stars?” Thomas’ voice sounded so close when they’re basically sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. The blond could feel the other’ breaths ghostly touch the sensitive skin on his neck, and he opened his eyes, gently pushing the brunet away some inches.

 “Not right now Tommy,” Newt shook his head, but he was smiling. “And why do you suddenly ask that?”

“You said cuddle, so why did you push me away?” Thomas pouted and complained, sounding a little bit disappointed. “And c’mon, counting stars is actually fun.”

_I see this life like a swinging vine_

_Swing my heart across the line_

_In my face is flashing signs_

_Seek it out and ye shall find_

Newt rolled his eyes, picking up his phone on the table, “You know I’m ticklish,” he hummed quietly while typing the password to unlock the phone. “And you haven’t answered my question.”

“You’ll find that’s a nice thing to do,” Thomas finally replied after ten seconds of silence, slowly snuggling closer to his boyfriend. “And the sky at night is breathtakingly beautiful, especially on starry nights. You should believe me on that, Newt.”

The blond ignored Thomas’ not-so-subtle attempt to wrap an arm around him, his left thumb was scrolling down a page on his phone. “Well, according to this article, an astronomer estimated that there are- how do I read that number?” Newt’s frown got a little bit deeper. “One, two, three… oh, _100 octillion_ – it wrote there – _stars_ in the universe, Tommy.”

“How many zeros in that number exactly?” Thomas raised one eyebrow, looking positively confused. “And what do you want to tell me with that?”

“Twenty-nine zeros,” Newt giggled lightly, the index finger on his right hand was drawing some invisible circles on the brunet’s left knee.  “Well, it also said that as a result, if every human on earth were to count one star per second, it would take 443 billion years to count them all.”

“I still can’t see your point.”

_Oh, but I’m not that old_

_Young, but I’m not that bold_

_I don’t think the world is sold_

_I’m just doing what we’re told_

“I just want to say it’s pointless to count stars, Tommy.” Newt rolled his eyes, looking straight into the other’s eyes with an emotionless expression. Yeah, because he’s a romantic _like that_.

Thomas only smiled at him, a gentle expression crossed his face, “It’s also pointless to count freckles, but I know you have 36 on the edge of your left hand.”

Newt blinked. Once. Twice. That was totally unexpected. “You counted my freckles?”

“I do that when I’m bored or I just want to stare at you without a proper reason,” Thomas smirked when he withdrew his arm to grab Newt’s right hand on his knee, gently lifting it up. “And now I’m gonna count the freckles on your right hand, too.”

_I-I-I-I feel something so right_

_Doing the wrong thing_

_I-I-I-I feel something so wrong_

_Doing the right thing_

“Are you serious?” Newt stared at Thomas, who was busy focusing on his right hand at his eye level, fingers tracing slowly on Newt’s skin, their thighs pressed together. The light lingering touches sent shivers down his spine, warmth blossomed in his chest, and his cheeks heated up a little bit. They weren’t doing anything sensual at all, but it was this kind of intimacy made his knees feel weak. Newt’s glad that he’s already sitting right now.

“Gimme one more quiet moment, I’m trying to concentrate here,” Thomas’ fingers were close to Newt’s wrist, and the blond bit his lower lip lightly when his boyfriend breathed out triumphantly. “Done! You have 39 freckles here, Newt!”

_I couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie_

_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive_

Now the blond couldn’t hold back his laugh, “Oh my god, you’re such a dork!” He shook his head with a _you-are-unbelievable_ expression, but fondness was laced in his voice.

“I’m _your_ dork then,” the brunet shrugged, beaming brightly. “Can I borrow your shoulder for a while, Newt?”

The blond nodded with a small smile. This time when Thomas lay his head on Newt’s shoulder, he didn’t push him away. Now their fingers intertwined, and Newt felt more warmth than all hot cups of chocolate could give him at that moment.

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be counting stars_

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars_

“I like the chorus,” Thomas spoke after a quiet moment, “And we really should go stargazing one day.”

Newt contemplated the possibilities. To be honest, stargazing didn’t sound too bad to him. “If you insist, but I’ll let you do all the counting job.”

“Fine with me,” the brunet grinned, slightly tightening his grip on Newt’s hand. “I do that better than you after all.”

“I don’t even want to argue with you on that.” Newt laughed, and his boyfriend hummed quietly in agreement.

…

_**TBC.** _


	2. Chapter 2

_I feel your love and I feel it burn_

_Down this river, every turn_

“Newt,” Thomas suddenly called, lifting his head from the blond’s shoulder.

His boyfriend raised one eyebrow, “Hmm?”

“Do you feel my love and feel it burn?” The brunet grinned like a cat that ate the canary when his hand slipped under Newt’s shirt, placing at his side then starting to tickle him.

Newt gasped while trying to hold back his laugh, “Stop- Stop it, Tommy!” He nearly squeaked when the brunet pushed him down to the couch, his hands frantically moved to his stomach in an attempt to grab Thomas’ ones. He failed pretty quickly in just five seconds because the only thing Newt could do after Thomas caught both his wrists by one hand was laughing out loud helplessly, “Tommy! Let me go!”

_Hope is a four-letter word_

_Make that money, watch it burn_

“You know, ‘love’ is also a four-letter word too,” Thomas abruptly stopped assaulting Newt’s sensitive torso, smiling so genuinely at the boy underneath him.

“You can’t be _that_ cliché,” Newt teased breathlessly, the corner of his mouth raised into a cheeky smirk when his laugh was slowly quiet down, “by the way, do you know the phrase “four-letter word” exists because there’re so many profanities in English contain four letters, Tommy?”

_Oh, but I’m not that old_

_Young, but I’m not that bold_

_I don’t think the world is sold_

_I’m just doing what we’re told_

“Geez, you’re the least romantic person I have ever adored,” Thomas grimaced, his smile disappeared and was replaced by a scowl for a brief moment before he smirked, “I just come to the conclusion that you’ve spent too much time with Minho recently so as a result, you’re turning into a buzzkill like him.”

“Minho’s fun,” Newt smiled smugly, “It’s just you can’t accept the fact that he’s sassier than you, Tommy.”

“Still, he will need to claim another four-letter word as his, because only me have the right to say _Newt_ is my own four-letter word of happiness,” Thomas’ grin was even smugger than Newt’s.

It’s sappy as hell. It’s a little bit silly to say, even with Thomas’ level of mushiness. But with all those logical reasons, Newt still couldn’t stop the blush on his face, “You’re a hopeless sap, I give you that Tommy.”

_I-I-I-I feel something so wrong_

_Doing the right thing_

_I couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie_

_Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly_

“I think I’m drowning in your eyes,” Thomas, of course, noticed the faint shade of red on his boyfriend’s cheeks and felt an urge to make Newt blush more, “you have the most gorgeous brown eyes I have ever seen. I could stare into those eyes for all day without getting bored.”

The brunet said those words when he slowly leaned down until their nose almost touched. His breaths ghostly touched Newt’s skin, and they never broke their eye-contact.

Newt didn’t even blink while having an internal struggle with himself to keep a straight face, but he’s pretty sure his cheeks were burning, “If the next thing you do is kissing me, I have to say it’s quite disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m complaining, but you can’t be that predictable and boring, Tommy.”

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be counting stars_

A glint of victory flashed in Thomas’ eyes when he pulled himself away with a satisfied grin, “Do you want to know how many freckles you have on your face, Newt?”

Two seconds later, brown eyes slightly widened with amusement, “Don’t tell me you’re counting them right now!”

Two fingers gently pressed on Newt’s lips, “Shh, I don’t want to redo this or give you the wrong number,”

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars_

The blond parted his lips, slightly nibbling on Thomas’ fingertip, making the brunet gasp in surprise and quickly withdraw his fingers. Newt grinned, his voice was sweetly evocative, mixed with a little bit cheekiness when he observed his boyfriend, “What if I don’t really care about that number at all?”

“Someone decided to be a little bit naughty today,” Thomas shook his head, fingers were tracing along Newt’s jawline with a slow pace before he stopped and his thumb brushed against the soft, sensitive skin of the blond’s lower lip, “and I haven’t finished my counting yet, all thanks to you.”

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

“Oh c’mon, Tommy, sayin’ that like you haven’t done counting my freckles like hundred times before already,” Newt giggled devilishly, nibbling slightly on the bare skin of the other’s thumb, making Thomas gasp quietly. “Tell you this Tommy, give my lips some better things to do, would you?”

A dangerous glint flashed across Thomas’ eyes. “Don’t tease me, Newt. You reap what you sow, do you know?”

“I’m waiting for it,” Newt smiled sweetly at his boyfriend. Thomas rolled his eyes, fine, if that’s what his little devil wanted.

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

_Everything that kills me… makes me feel alive_

Their kiss was as exhilarating as usual when Thomas leaned down and bit the other’s lower lip lightly, earning a soft moan when Newt opened his mouth slightly to allow his boyfriend to deepen the kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance, nobody wanted to lose their little fight that soon, and their lips were still locked feverishly together when a hand slipped underneath the loose shirt on Newt’s torso, fingers lazily traced invisible circles on his bare skin, moving dangerously close to some sensitive spots on his back.

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be counting stars_

_Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_

_But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard_

_Said no more counting dollars_

_We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars_

“That’s unfair!” Newt gasped, feeling strangely out of breaths when Thomas’ mischievous hand touched his shoulder blade. His skin was burning with desire when the other left his lips to place butterfly kisses on his jawline, then lowered on his neck.

“Oh? That’s your punishment for teasing me, Newt,” Thomas breathed out, his lips were still on the other’s warm skin, and Newt shivered when hot breaths ghostly drew on his neck, leaving him with a strange feeling of anticipation. “I already told you, you reap what you sow.”

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

“And you should get your part too,” Newt grinned when he gained back some of his conscience to make a quick revenge plan. “I’m not that easy to tame, you know.”

“We should really go stargazing one day,” Thomas replied with an unrelated sentence before continuing his attack on the other’s sensitive neck.

“Got it, you dork.” The blond giggled with his boyfriend’s dorkiness. Only Thomas could still let his mind wander around other topics when he’s locking lips with his lover like that. Oh boys, but that’s what Newt loved about him.

And they sure will go stargazing, one day.

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

_Take that money_

_Watch it burn_

_Sink in the river_

_The lessons are learnt_

…

**_End oneshot._ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also my first attempt to write for The Maze Runner fandom. If it’s decent enough, I hope I could contribute more in the future. And if I has made any mistake, please don’t hesitate to correct me, I truly appreciate that :D
> 
> ~~… I wonder should I write a stargazing part as a sequel, the idea sounds tempting— Gosh my laziness should stop me now.~~
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing fiction for The Maze Runner fandom. I love feedback, and constructive criticisms are more than welcome! Thank you for reading my work, have a nice day <3


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